24 - The end of the second age
by DixieLeDix
Summary: The final battle of Sauron and last alliance.
1. Chapter 1

3431

"What will happen now? You are determined, and you see far. Tell me what you decide to do, will bring a future for us!"

Celebrian eyes were filled with tears as Elrond was about to leave for the east.

He said; "I cannot foresee everything; the will of men is not easily understood. However, I promise you this: shall I return victorious and the enemy gone, I shall devout my life to you."

"Can you foresee the role of my parents?" Celebrian asked.

Cirdan who were with Elrond said; "your parents are safe at Edhellond."

Elrond commented; "but they will not stay there, come with us princess and you will meet them in a safe place."

The army of Elendil and Gil-Galad left Amon Sul and passed the misty mountain without problems. No giants were seen in the mountains and the spring weather made no problem. When Gil-Galad looked into the east and the great river, he said to Elendil; "in time this place will belong to men and what have been created by the Valar will vanish and become legends, but for now time belong to us."

Elendil answered; "I am old, but I feel as strong as ever. I suspect this will be my last act, but my children and their children will take carry the love of the Valar of the Numenoreans with them and never forget."

Gil-Galad commented; "I was young when I became King. I will have no heritage but will be remembered only solely by my deeds. Your fate might be different from mine, but we share the same passion for life."

The army came to Lothlorien and met Amdir.

The peaceful elven king knew what was expected by him.

He said; "for me I honor your request my King. I have the blood of the Sindarin. My people are Nandorin they love peaceful nature of these forests. However, I have trained my people according to your advice, and the lady of the Noldor has returned to give us courage in the forthcoming war."

Gil-Galad was pleased to see Galadriel had travelled from Edhellond to Lothlorien. They met their daughter for the first time in many years.

Celebrian said; "like you mother, I have fallen in love with a special place in Middle Earth. In Imladris I want to build s realm that will shine as this place and Doriath before that."

Not long after Oropher arrived in Lothlorien with his son Thranduil. They too intended to keep their promise to the Great King and stand with him in the coming battle.

The elves and Numenoreans held a council on the hill in the middle of Lothlorien covered with the Niphredil and Elanor flowers.

Gil-Galad said; "the enemy holds the passage to Mordor. He knows the strength of the castle the Numenorean build there and would wish nothing more than we attacked it. He has also send servants to the east and the south to raise them against us. The plains of the east are filled with thousands of warriors marching towards west. Those we will have to meet before they cross into the Anduin valley and destroy Gondor."

Galadriel said; "and I have come here to warn you that there is an army approaching from the south as well. They will try to attack Pelargir with creatures of the Mumakan."

Oropher of Amon Lanc said; "we have seen the clouds from the east. They are not in the thousands, but in the tens of thousands. If I shall lay down my hroa in Middle Earth, I will do so, but only for a victory."

Amdir said; "we need more allies!"

Gil-Galad said; "we will face Sauron nevertheless. His armies are at least two years from being ready. We will stay here a year preparing from war. I know who I will call for help, if you have others that can come to our aide, please alert these. Remember if we fail, all others will be subjects of the shadow of Sauron."


	2. Chapter 2

3432

"I am afraid;" a voice said.

"I know;" Amroth answered; "a sword can make sound even in its scabbard."

"Tell me what this is, are we in peril," she continued.

Amroth said; "we are not in peril now, but we evil in the south is growing and my father has received a request from the Noldor to help them."

Nimrodel was chocked; "help the Noldor! These were the ones who brought evil to Middle Earth!"

Amroth said; "they tried to fight another great evil. Remember the singing voice you said filled you with fear many years ago? It was the evil the Noldor tries to defeat."

Nimrodel replied; "I know of whom you speak of but fear you will become like him if arm yourself. Even when fighting a just cause you will lose your innocent."

Amroth said; "I have to follow my father; will you be here when I return?"

Nimrodel revealed herself to him; "it depends on who you when you return."

In the vale of Nanduhirion, everything was silence, as it had been for many years.

The guards at the stone of Durin was surprised to see a lonely woman approaching them.

"Who are you and what is your business here?" A guard said.

The elf stopped, she had obviously no weapons; "I am here to ss my friend Durin;" she replied

The leader of the dwarves came forward and approached Galadriel; "if you speak the truth you will know his name in our tongue"

Galadriel replied; "this I do not know, but I know the name of the Durin who came before him and the Durin before him too."

She whispered in the guard's ears

The guard quickly ran towards Khazad-dum and returned a few hours after."

"Our king is ready to meet you;" he said.

Galadriel approached the wall and the king of Khazam-dum appeared at the top.

Galadriel said; "many years ago I gave advise to your king Durin III. He was my friend. He and his ancestors followed my advice and hit their treasures deep under these mountains. Khazad-dum has been safe from the outside even since. However, the world of elves is in peril, and I have come to seek the help of the longbeards in the war ahead of us."

The king was silence for a long time; then he said; "Once we made a choice not to be part of this struggle between the east and the west. We belong to ground of Middle Earth. If I assist you I fear, we will eventually become part of this war, and it will be our end."

Galadriel then said; "if an end comes to Khazad-dum, it will not be from this place, as I promise to defend your realm with all my power. I promise this because I knew your ancestors, and where others saw only a stone hroa, I saw a heart created by Mahal in the same spirit which created us."

Durin said; "I know you can be trusted Zabad. Please stay and I shall return with my answer."

Galadriel stayed outside the wall for several days until one morning they opened.

Out came fifty armed dwarves. They did not speak save for the last one.

"Tell you master we are under his command!" He said,

The group continued alongside Kheled-Zaram and Galadriel followed them. She stopped for a moment and looked back at the gates closing. On top of the wall Durin IV stood. He raised his fist to salute the queen and she responded with the same gesture.

In Osgiliath the sky to the east was silence, there were no Nazgul to be seen under the dark clouds.

Anarion said; "how long time do you believe we have?"

Glorfindel present among the Numenoreans said; "he is waiting for you to make a mistake; he will not attack until his armies arrives."

Isildur said; "However, we will surprise him! The ships in Pelargir are ready and he is not aware that I know the southern pass into the land. I will sail to the coast close to Edhellond and ask the men of the mountains. Celeborn and the Falathim there will help us man the ships and sail for the Harnen next spring."

But before Isildur could leave Vorondome came to him.

She said; "I know you and our three sons are going to be in great danger. I cannot stop you or them in following you into war, but I can protect our youngest son. I wish to return to the north with Valandil until this is over."

Isildur was surprised; "My sons are strong and brave, and they have chosen to stand with me in this fight for our very existence."

Vorondome said; "But you cannot choose for Valandil. I dare not think of it, but should the enemy prevail, he should be safe."

To Vorondomes surprise Isildur smiled; "Then travel with Valandil. In time you will receive news of our great victory using the Palantir in Annuminas. Then your sons and I will return north and meet you and Valandil again."

However, Vorondome did not smile back. She gathered her sons and Meneldil to bid them farewell. Elendur and his brothers were in a good mood as they hugged their mother. Only Meneldil seem sad.

"I hope to see you again;" he said.

"I helped when you arrived in this world, and I promised your mother I would take care of you. You have always been like a son to me. Live Meneldil and remember you are the last person born in Numenor;" Vorondome said.

Soon Vorondome and Valandil together with a hundred followers of women and children headed for Annuminas over Angrenost.


	3. Chapter 3

3433

Four great ships of Numenor anchored in the bay where the Morthrond river met the Ringlo river. Five more remained in the harbor of Edhellond further south.

Isildur went ashore with men and horses. They prepared to travel up the Morthond river.

One of lieutenants, a man named Hirgon asked Isildur; "do you believe they have noticed us from the Erech stone?"

Isildurs answered; "the rumor is that the greats sail of our ships can be seen from mountains close to the stone when the sails are set, but as this were only for a short while before we anchored, I doubt that."

However, the ships were noticed by people standing at the stone.

One of them said; "four large black birds in the distance does not sound well for our future. WE need to know their intension before letting them closer."

A few days after Isildur wanted to start his journey, but just as he prepared to leave, a lone young man arrived at their camp from the mountains.

He spoke to them in adunaic; "my name is Eldul, my father is the king of the mountains. He has send me to ask why you have landed here."

Isildur smiled and said; "I believe you father realm extend no further than the stone we place to mark the border, but I appreciate you coming here."

He continued; "You father once swore an oath of loyalty to Numenor if she came in peril. We hoped this would never happen, as we believed he was dead. However, he did live on and now he threatens us. I therefore summon you to fulfill your oath and gather you men, so that you can man our ships and travel to the south to stop the enemy. I expect at least two thousand men from you."

The young man bowed and turned around to leave.

Isildur said; "one month, Eldul, and ewe will come to meet you at the stone."

To the north Gil-Galad gathered his army around Amon Lanc. Gil-Galad was eager to travel south, but the elves of the great forest onl arrived slowly and Amroth of Lorien had not arrived.

Cirdan said to Gil-Galad; "I rarely look east, but if I do now I see a great army approaching!"

Elrond added; "and I see a great fight in a near future."

Gil-Galad called Amdir and Oropher to him; to his surprise they also brought their sons with them.

Gil-Galad said; "we have to leave soon. If the dark lords armies from the east reaches his land before us, our chances of victory is less."

Amroth the son of Amdir said; "we have no stake in the war, but we will be hurt, allow us to depart from our beloved before meeting out destiny."

And Thranduil the son of Oropher added; "and remember we are not your subjects nor the subjects of your masters from the west. Our people make up most of your army, but we will not carry your banner, only the banner of the king of Araw."

Gil-Galad said; "the king of Araw, is my lord too, and Wan put golden flowers in his hair, you should allow the same from your love ones."

As Gil-Galad and Elendil waited other people started to arrive. A group of pale emotionless arrived from the east. They spoke no known language and used songs instead of words. When Gil-Galad expressed lack of understanding their arrival; they pointed to the mountains.

Galadriel said; "these Avari has in them a song of the very creation, from Arda came to be. They bear no weapons but knows the magic of Middle Earth. They have been called by Nimrodel to help. I do not know their faith, but it is not in Valinor nor in Udun."

Finally, a small group of men asked to join the army. Oropher knew who they were.

"these are the skin changers, also called the bearpeople. They have much to revenge when it come to the dark lord. They look like normal men now, but wait until the fighting starts;" he said

After a month had passed Isildur send Hirgon with two dozen men to the stone of Erech and waited for their return with two thousand men.

Gil-Galad and his armies left Amon Lanc he rode in the front with Elendil.

"we will travel only when the sun is not shinning. The dark lord expects our forces to be a lot less than we have and his armies blind believe in him will make us prevail," he said.

Elendil replied; "it is strange, but it is as I long for this. So much pain will be revenged. No one shall stand between me and Sauron and live."

The army move from the forest until the fields once protected by the entwives. However, none were there, and only the few that knew of their rejecting of the dark lord during the creation of the great rings understood why they would not participate in the coming battle.

When a month had passed Hirgon and his men arrive at the coast again, but only half of them had survived.

Hirgon said; "they were not a the Erech stone, and when we travelled north they attacked us. Many life were lost among them the young messenger. After this were fled into the mountain. We could not follow them as we were too few."

Isildur was furious; "we shall gather our men and chain them to our oars!"

He called for all of the ships of Numenor to come to the mouth of Morthond. The first to arrive, however was the one he had send south to look for the enemy.

The captain said; "At least five thousand men is travelling alongside the coastline towards the Harmen. They are lead by two Numenoreans; once great men, but now known by the names of Herumor and Fuinur in the elvish tongue. They also have Mumakil with them. There Nazgul guards them. They will reach the Harnen as the new year start. We still have two ships at the mouth, but they are undermanned.

Isildur screamed in anger; "I will bring justice to the people of the mountain for breaking their oath! If not me then my son, but they shall never escape my wrath until they have fulfilled their oath!"

Hirgon asked; "what shall we do now, then?"

Isildur said; "man all seven remaining ships here and in Edhellod. We shall sail to Harnen anyway and find a solution as we are Numenoreans. The people of the mountains I shall deal with later.

In Osgiliath Anarion met with Elendur and Meneldil on the western bank of Anduin where the white tree grew.

He said; "it is getting close, and we will have to act. You should prepare for our counterattack and we intend to reconquer Minas Ithil.


	4. Chapter 4

3434

Isildurs fleet sailed up Harnen river. He send scouts ashore and they quickly returned with information of a great army approaching from the south along the shore.

Isildur gathered his captains.

"We are outnumbered ten to one, but our enemy do not know this. He believes these ships to be filled with warriors. How can we use this to our advantage?" Isildur asked his generals. However, no one seemed to have any ideas.

Isildur continued; "our enemy has no ships, he will need to follow the south bank of the Harnen east until he can cross it at the great southern road."

Still no one commented.

Isildur then continued with a low voice as was he speaking to himself; "Harnen is deep … and the army facing us consist of men from the far Harad. They do not swim … but their leaders Fuinur and Herumor are skilled seamen."

Suddenly Isildur smiled; "I got it! They would really appreciate our ships here, as it would save them many days of travels."

His captains looked at him unable to understand what he meant.

"Why do we not give our ships to them?" Isildur said and smiled.

His brother Anarion had moved close to Minas Ithil with a few brave men. They had moved under cover of the night and were not seen from the castle.

Anarion said; "there are only a few guards on the wall and no one to be seen around the mountains."

One of his men said; "this can be a trap."

Anarion reacted; "for this to be a trap, they should know we are here, but I suspect they do not. Glorfindel has informed me that he saw lots of orcs heading north; I know why they do! They now know that the armies of Gil-Galad and my fathers are approaching, and they are much stronger than they expected."

He continued; "they have hold this castle for years and have become confident. They have forgot we know how this is build; the pathways from the tower in the center to the walls are not finished and they can only access the walls from each end. We on the other hand knows the height of the wall over the gate. We will be able to take the wall and the pathway into Mordor by simply climbing them during night under cover of our archers. Before they are alerted we will hold the walls and the enemies inside can receive no help from Mordor."

Another soldier then whispered; "but this will only work if the wall is undermanned."

Anarion smiled; "they are;" he stated.

Murazor met Sauron in Barad-dur.

He said; "the enemy is far stronger than expected. They have moved unnoticed and are close to the northern entrance close to the river."

Sauron war furious; "command Khamul to reach the entrance before our enemy, even at the cost of being seen and numbered."

Glorfindel had reached the end of the flatland through which Anduin ran and not climbed the hill surrounding the waterfall called Rauros. He climber the first hill on the eastern brink.

He keeled and even though he was alone he said; "master please reveal yourself to me!"

After a while a voice said; "I erected these hills on each side of the river of be heard and seen by those who still remember the old day."

Glorfindel said; "I was there then Gondolin fell, and I was there when Finrod came with the Edain. I was unborn when you lead our people west."

The voice said; "I can never leave Middle Earth, even though my master has. Even though we are forbidden to create our own realm here, my wife and I frequently visit. We tell those who created the ents and the dwarves of their fate. However, you have the stones of Varda with you, why do you want to speak with me?"

Glorfindel said; "I ask you to fight with us!"

The king of Araw answered; "do not fear! I will be there! The evil created from underground I will challenge, and they will be scared. For you and your king you will have to fight, but no matter what happen your high place in Mandos chambers will be ready."

The voice of Orome vanished from Amon Lhaw and Glorfindel looked east. He saw the army of Gil-Galad on the move towards a great enemy. The battle of the second age was about to commence. He climbed down the hill and mounted his horse and rode into war.

The largest battle of the second age started. Initially only the forces of Elendil and Gil-Galad engaged the enemies line, but soon other troops followed. Many of Saurons troops turned north to face the armies of Oropher and the bear men. The latter were out numbers and after a day of battle, Oropher and most of his warriors were killed. His son Thranduil raised his banner but realized that all the elves of the green forest could be lost. When seeing his father dead, he shouted; "When this is over an age shall pass before we take part in this madness again."

However, as he spoke a large army of men riding horses approached from the north.

They rode into the mid of the enemy shouting, "Tal-Elmar."

The armies of Harad had send scout ahead. They returned and told about the ships anchored on the southern bank of the Harnen river.

Herumor and Fuinur send their soldier north in a great pace. They seemed to be a surprise to the enemy and the few soldiers on the ships jumped into the water and started to swim north.

The men from the ships were picked up by small boats on the water unnoticed.

The men from the south did not know how to sail the great ships of the Numenoreans, but their two commanders knew.

They commanded the newly seized ships to be manned and set sail for the southern bank.

Unknown to them the ships lavatories at the back were still having with a few Numenoreans on board with torches. The floor of the ships was filled with dry grass, but the people from Harad manned the ships nevertheless.

When the ships were in the middle of the river the men from Numenor set fire to them. They then dropped into the water and swam towards the small boats there.

Isildur and the majority of his men, watched from the northern bank as the fire spread and finally got noticed by the southern men. The panic on board the ships started.

On of Isildurs men said; "what a fate, to drown or burn!"

Isildur said; "they came here to destroy! To forgive them is not for us."

After assuring that all the ships had sunk, and his men were safe Isildur ordered his army to hear east along the river.

"I do not believe them to try to cross Harnen at the great road now;" he said.

And as suspected they met no emeries as they reached the southern entrance into Mordor as Glorfindel once showed him.

In the north, Amroth learned about the death of his father Amdir. Furious he turned to the enemy without care of his own life.

However, as he met Thranduil, the son of Oropher, her learned that two third of Thranduils father's elves had perished the last days, he understood the magnitude of the battle.

In the very middle of the battle Elendil and his men was fighting along Gil-Galad and Elrond and Cirdan. In front of everybody else the old man walked. No one; even the strongest orc or troll with a sword could resist him and if he came into peril the spear of Gil-Galad would protect him.

After weeks of fighting Gil-Galad knew he had won the battle, albeit with uncountable losses. He met with Elendil who also had survived.

Elendil said; "the pass into Mordor should be taken as quick as possible."

Gil-Galad said; "Yes, I agree but afterwards we need to ensure he can never leave his castle!. This fight is far from over."


	5. Chapter 5

3435

It was Khamul who delivered the message of the disastrous defeat on the plains north of Mordor.

He said; "they were ten times the number we expected. They were even joined by the bear people. We thought they were extinct. And immortal Avari. Their souls kept scaring us, even though their body sunk into ground. And men joined them from the north …"

Sauron stopped him; "Do you not scare people? Are you not immortal?"

Sauron took Khamuls hand and forced him to kneel. He took the ring from his finger.

The other Nazgul looked in horror.

Sauron said; "Now your soul belongs to me. Maybe I should find another body for it."

He looked at the rest of the Nazgul and continued; "Remember that should I perish, you will perish as well. However, like you, my soul cannot leave Middle Earth as long as my creations exist. Therefore, we must defend them, even with the loss of our body. Else all is lost."

Murazor was the only one who dared to speak; "What shall we do, my lord. We have no troop to defend the northern entrance to Mordor. We should have built a gate there, but it is too late now.

Dwar added; "and we have no left in the Numenorean castle."

Sauron said; "but we have thousands of orcs here. They will defend this castle and the mountains and valleys around it. The alliance we face will not hold. Elendil will die and he will be followed by weaker men- If necessary I will face the elven king and kill him. And we will be able to rebuild our power without facing the Numenoreans nor the Noldo king."

The water running around Minas Ithil seemed to be more furious than ever. It created a thick steam that the guards on the castle wall could not see though. The torches on the wall could not burn and the entire castle became embedded in a strange mist.

Anarion and his men quickly and noiseless took care of the orcs outside. He knew the height of the wall and the ladders they carried with them were easy put in place. Before the castle became alerted the wall were filled with revengeful Numenoreans.

On the other side of the bridge leading over the stream, Galadriel stood. She has used her energy to create the mist and now she could relax.

When the orcs below ran into the courtyard from the houses the Numenoreans were ready for them send their arrows after them. The remaining orcs manned the tower in the middle of the courtyard and prepared for a last stand. However, Anarion was content with controlling the wall and the eastern passage into Mordor. The remaining four archways from the tower to the wall were not finished, so the few orcs were effectively trapped in Minas Ithil.

Anarion and his men climbed the path into Mordor. The Numenoreans had under Isildur cut stairs into mountain for the first part. As for the remaining part they had started cut a way though the mountain pass. It was only half finished but the walls on each side were now two hundred feet high and would mean death for anyone falling into the carved cliff from the mountain side.

Anarion looked into Mordor. The dirt and gravel dug from the path had been placed here entrance was much steeper. In time it could be developed into a wall effectively making Minas Ithil control both passage ways.

Anarion looked south; in the distance he could see banners raised in front of a small army.

His men were nervous, but Anarion said; "it is Isildur, my brother has entered Mordor from the south and journeyed here!"

Elendil and Gil-Galad moved fast into Mordor from the north. They travelled though the pass between the arms from the Ash and Shadow mountains.

A few days after Elendil and his two sons met each other at the western slopes of Oroduin.

There was much joy among the Numenoreans, as many met friends there had not seen for years.

The celebration was suddenly interrupted by the Nazgul, who dived towards their armies and pick up men in their claw only to drop them again, so their bodies would hit other Numenoreans.

The Numenoreans fired their arrows and the Nazgul disappeared.

Elendil said; "he is not beaten yet; how shall we defend our men when we move around this country."

Isildur said; "and even if we kill everyone of his servant he will still be able to escape using these creatures."

Gil-Galad said; "I know how to solve this! I will send Glorfindel and the elf army to the east. They will enter Mordor to the north east where the Ash Mountains is of lesser height. Glorfindel do not fear the Nazgul, but they fear him. When this is done we will surround Mordor leaving only Barad-dur and mountains connecting it to Ered Lithui to our enemy."

He continued; "take control of the pass called Carach Angren, Minas Ithil and the passage to the country of Nurn, so no one can leave Mordor on foot. I will leave you but be back as soon as possible, hopefully with as way to confine the dark lord to his tower."


	6. Chapter 6

3436

Shelob was travelling westwards using the highest peaks at the Ash Mountains. She only travelled at night and looked at the plains to the north for any sight of Orome.

Once when she looked south the mountains seem to reveal a flat highland with almost no vegetation. In the distance she saw the great tower of Barad-dur and sensed Saurons presence. She grined and continued her journey.

However, shortly after, she saw a bright light in the distance ahead as if a star had fallen onto Middle Earth. The light terrified her.

As she tried to focus, she saw an elf holding a sword, which generated the light.

A voice shouted; "continue and face the wrath that have killed balrog."

Shelob stopped. She looked at the tower in the distance and saw Sauron. But she had no ring, nothing that could stop her from being send back to Udun.

To Saurons disappointment, she turned around.

Glorfindel watched in triumph as Shelob withdraw, there would be no help coming for Mordor.

Soon after Glorfindel and the elves met with the Numenoreans from the south under Isildur and Elendur.

"There are still many thousand orcs hiding in caves on the Lithlad plain and the mountains behind. These are in sight of Barad-dur and will be dangerous to clear from orcs, so long as the Nazgul rule the skies;" Glorfindel said.

Isildur said; "however, we need to! If we do not close in on Barad-dur, there will always be a risk that the Dark Lord will break out and escape. We will be cautious and have patience, and it will take years, but eventually, he shall be confined to his tower alone."

Elendur spontaneously said; "unless he escapes on one of the flying beasts."

However, no one commented on his remark.

Gil-Galad had travelled all the way to Angrenost. The garrison there were only a handful of men. They were joyful when they heard the news of the outcome of the battle to the east.

He climbed the southernmost peak of the Misty Mountains, Methedras. A trip impossible for a normal man, but Gil-Galad was a great Noldo King, so he made it to the top.

He looked into the valley below and Angrenost which seemed small in the distance.

"I understand why you prefer to live here. So much in sight!" He said.

The eagle did not answer. It looked at Gil-Galad for the reason he had come.

Gil-Galad said; "Son of Thorondor! I ask of you and your people to take upon you a task to save the world from evil. You will need to fight the birds of Melkor, which he created in mockery of your forefathers."

The eagle looked to the east along the white mountains. It saw the smoke from Oroduin in the distance.

Elendil entered the Doom of Stars. Even though the war raged on the other side of the Shadow Mountains, he and his sons occasionally took time to visit their cities.

He looked into the Palantir, not expected to see anything significant. He saw the blue sky in the stone. Then he saw a bird in the sky, then one more. Soon the sky was filled with large eagles.

Elendil smiled. He knew this was what Gil-Galad saw in Angrenost. Gil-Galad had found a way to keep Sauron in Barad-dur.


	7. Chapter 7

3438

The Numenorean now controlled most of the Ash Mountain range.

They had tried to clear all orcs strongholds in the mountains for two years. It was a slow and dangerous task as they were always in peril of being attacked by the Nazgul on their flying beasts.

The screams of the beasts also scared even the bravest among the Numenoreans and they needed to be escorted by the officers of Gil-Galad like Elrond and Cirdan to have the courage to continue.

One day they were met with screams from the sky. The Nazgul had flown from Barad-dur as they often did.

Gil-Galad was alone on an isolated peak of the mountains. He counted the Nazgul leaving the tower.

"Nine!" He said to himself and grinded.

He them stood up and whistled.

It was a sound invisible to all men and even must elves, but this was Ereinion Gil-Galad, the friend of Thorondor, who asked the sons of hm, the greatest eagle of all, to attack.

Sauron was quickly alerted, by screams in the sky. These were not the scream of the fell beasts attacking but screams of pain and despair.

Dozens of eagles passed over the peak where the Great King stood.

As Sauron rushed to a window at the top of Barad-dur, he saw one of his servants fall from his winged beast to the mountain side below. The fell beast itself struggled in a fight with an eagle; a fight it soon lost. With one wing badly hurt it span out of control falling to its death at the same spot as its master.

In the horizon Sauron could see the other Nazgul fleeing on their beasts, hunted by the eagles and one by one being defeated.

He then looked at the fallen Nazgul laying at the mountain side. He could not see who it was at the great distance. It was a fall that would have killed any man, but the Nazgul was saved by the ring on his finger.

The Nazgul slowly recovered and got up, but then threw himself until the ground. An eagle dived towards him, but missed him, hitting the corpse of the fell beast close by instead. The eagle continued, and the corpse of its rival tumbled down the mountain side.

The Nazgul looked back at Barad-dur. He knew his master was watching. He then looked at the valley below and saw other eagles now hunting orcs; catching them with their claws, flying them into the air and releasing them to their death as he had recently done himself with his enemies.

The Nazgul knew the eagles would get him if he tried to cross the valley to Barad-dur. In stead he started sneaking east among the rocks of the mountains.

"Call all orcs back to the tower;" Sauron ordered his commanders.

As the valley was emptied for orcs the eagles came closer to the tower, eventually circling it.

"What do we do?" one of Sauron commanders said with fear in the voice.

"This!" Said Sauron and grabbed a spear. He threw it with great force against one of the eagles. It hit its target killing the eagle instantly.

The defenders in the tower starting firing poisonous arrows against the eagles. Several of the birds of Manwe were hit and lost their life.

Glorfindel, Elendil and Gil-Galad was watching at a distance.

"Call them back!" Elendil requested.

"I will;" Gil-Galad answered; "they cannot attack the tower, but they can prevent any orcs or Nazgul in reaching the tower. The Dark Lord is not confined in his tower. He cannot break out and no one will come to his aide."

Glorfindel said; "we will clear these mountains of all enemies, so he will know the hopelessness of his situation. I will hunt for his servants, killing them or making sure they leave this land and do not come to his aid."

And from his tower Sauron saw the destruction of his defenses in Mordor. His orcs were killed and the Nazgul fled east in the cover of the nights. The had no horses or fells beast to travel on, and they could not come to his help.

At this time Isildur finished the eastern defense of Minas Ithil. The first path of the slope up to the castle from the east was unchanged, but instead of continuing upwards, it became horizontal turning into a carved gorge with sides which became higher and higher as one came closer to the castle. When the sides were two hundred feet high the narrow gorge of only ten feet ran into a vertical stone wall. The wall was a hundred feed high and could only be passed if a basket were lowered into the gorge. The height of the sides would kill anyone trying to jump into the gorge both before and after the wall. The path behind the wall was covered by thick wooden planks so stones thrown from the mountain sides could not hurt anyone. After the wall the path continued until it reached the stairs down towards Minas Ithil.


	8. Chapter 8

3440

Elendur was surprised to see Anarion approaching the battlefield close to Barad-dur.

He said; "I am happy to see you uncle, although I actually expected your son to relieve me."

Anarion said; "he is busy helping his son building the forth wall of Minas Anor."

Anarion hesitated for a while, then continued.

"He wants to shield Cemendur from the horror of this war," he said.

Elendur said; "Meneldil has always been like a brother to me."

Anarion smiled and said; "then maybe you should follow his example and settle down and have a family. We have enough strength to be superior on this battlefield, and it is long overdue for the eldest son of Isildur to provide an heir to him. All my children have themselves children now."

Elendur said; "soon … when this is over."

Anarion grabbed his helmet and walked towards Barad-dur.

"Let us finish this then;" he said putting on his helmet.

Elendil and Gil-Galad were at the northern pass into Mordor. Even though the pass was rocky and had the river stream wildly running from the highland valley to the south and west into the Anduin, this was by fat the lowest and widest entrance into Mordor. With the aid of the dwarves and elves from the battle of the plain or Dagorlad as it was now called, they were construction two towers on each side of the pass. The towers were used as storage and rest for those who travelled this way to fight in Mordor.

Elendils face turned pale, when the arriving soldiers from south showed him Anarions bloody and broken helmet. He instantly knew his youngest son had died.

One of the soldiers said; "it was a stone coming from the tower. We have not seen this before."

Elendil looked at the helmet; "it must have been a large stone, thrown with great force;" he said with a low voice.

Gil-Galad said; "only one person in the tower would be able to do this."

Elendil stood silence for a while, then it was as if he awoke suddenly.

"Have you informed my other son?" he asked the soldiers.

One of the men answered; "there is another group of messengers under Elendur send for Minas Ithil with the news."

Elendil said; "Let us rush for Barad-dur. I do not wish to lose both my sons."

Elendil and Gil-Galad caught up with Isildur and his men riding towards Barad-dur.

"Stop!" he shouted to the men.

Most of them obeyed immediately, but the ones riding in the front ignore the command.

"Stop!" Elendil repeated; "it is the king of Gondor who command you!"

All but one now stopped.

Elendil road pass the men and shouted a third time

"Stop! It is your father who command you!"

Isildur stopped his horse and looked back.

"Please do not throw away your life, son;" he said, now in a lower voice.

Isildurs eyes were filled with tears.

"I cannot live with this;" he said.

Gil-Galad caught up with Elendil. He said; "you can throw away your life at any point, but let us first honor your brother, by burying his hroa. He deserves this."

Isildur calmed down and turned around and rode to his three oldest sons.

To them he said; "will you follow me and travel to Minas Anor and inform your brother Meneldil about the death of his father?"

Isildur and his sons them turned back towards Minas Ithil.

Elendil said to Gil-Galad; "his anger will not go away!"

Gil-Galad then said; "then we must finish this now."

Elendil said; "I had hoped for this to be over at Dagorlad, so I could once more travel to the hill where my wife ended her life. I am old now, and if we force a final battle, I fear, it will be the end of me."

Gil-Galad put his hand on the king shoulder. "You are not alone, my friend. I stayed in Lindon only to make sure the no evil would challenge the west. I was about to leave when lord Celeborn told me what he had seen east of the mountains. I knew them that I had to stay, and when lady Galadriel identified him as the servant of Morgoth, I knew my fate was bound to his, who we shall now challenge."

The Numenoreans gathered in Osgiliath. They buried Anarion in a stone sarcophagus under the Doom of Stars. The room was below water in the middle of the river and lay in darkness, but no water came in as it was built on stones, with thick stone wall surrounding it.

The Numenoreans all gathered to honor their fallen hero, while the Elves under Elrond and Cirdan and the eagles watched over Barad-dur.

Gil-Galad were at the now finished tower in the middle of Minas Ithil. With his sharp eyes he could see the gathering in Osgiliath.

An eagle landed close to him.

Gil-Galad said; "I know my time will come to an end soon. However, I ask of you, son of Thorondor to stay here, until you are certain there is no evil left in Middle Earth. In time, others may come from Valinor, send by Manwe. I hope you will listen to their request."

No one except Gil-Galad understood the eagles answer, but it said; "We shall help these, but we shall never again enter this land unless al evil is gone."


	9. Chapter 9

3441

"You in the Tower!"

The voice was so loud that it could be heard over the entire valley around Barad-dur. And Sauron heard it too and knew who was calling for him. He walked to one of the windows high up in the tower.

In the distance on the slope of the great mountain stood persons. He recognized the king of Elves and the king of men.

Gil-Galad shouted again; "You who call himself king, what are you? You have no country and no men to rule. How will your master judge your achievements on the day of Dagor Dagorath, because I am prepared to let you let you wither through the ages to come and you can do nothing but watch a new Numenor rise around you! Or maybe you should show your worth and face us, as your master once did with Fingolfin, the first Great king of Middle Earth."

Sauron stood in silence a long time. His commanding orcs were in the room with him.

One of them finally said; "it is a trap, they outnumber us ten to one."

Sauron still looked out of the window. With a low voice he said; "I remember Fingolfins defeat."

The orcs could not hear his exact words.

Sauron turned around. "Prepare to attack;" he ordered.

Another orc said; "is there anything you want the legion of Lugburz to guard while you command our army?"

Sauron approached the orc. Even though the orc was among the greatest of his kind, he seemed little compared to his master.

He said; "there will be nothing left to guard here, I want all of you to attack, not a single orc shall remain in this tower."

Elendil and Gil-Galad waited on the slopes of mount Doom.

Elendil said to his commander; "Hirgon, take you men and report to Isildur. Stay close to him and guard him with your life."

The Numenorean hesitated.

"Leave me! It is an order!" Elendil said and the Numenoreans slowly obeyed.

When they were gone Gil-Galad said to Cirdan and Elrond who were with him; "I want you to take all your men and leave me and help Isildur and his men who will face the main force of the enemy, should he accept our challenge."

Elrond said; "I will stay with you my friend." Cirdan walked up to Elrond and stood with him. "We have come this far, we cannot leave now!"

Gil-Galad then said: "Leave me, I order you."

However, the two elves did not react.

Gil-Galad walked to Cirdan and said; "you see far. Do you not see your kinsmen and many more longing for the west? Who shall guide them there? Remember the promise you gave Ulmo."

He then faced Elrond; "you sense what is going to happen. What if the line of Elros should wither? Do you not feel this were the reason for Mandos to allow you to return to Valinor?

The two elves bowed and turned around. Their eyes were filled with tears as if they new what was about to happen.

The gates of Barad-dur opened and out ran thousand orcs. The ran south towards the Numenorean banners.

As the first orc fell for a Numenorean arrow the last person left the tower. It was Sauron.

Fast and silence he ran west against Mount Doom and Gil-Galad and Elendil.

Gil-Galad raised Aeglos. He said; "The legend states that my forefather Finwe received this spear from Orome himself to protect the Noldor under the great journey. Feanor brought it with him to Middle Earth and he used it when he fought Gothmog, an enemy as great as Sauron himself. Feanor lost, but he hurt his enemy with Aeglos so that he would weakened enough to be killed during the battle of Gondolin. The spear was lost, but Vaire foresaw that whoever found it should become king of the Noldor. I was born shortly after the siege of Angband was broken and knew nothing of this. I did not know my parentage, only that I was saved by the Bears of the mountains as a young child when the castle of Minas Tirith fell. Hunting in the north I found it, and when I saw the armies of Morgoth attack Gondolin, I came to help them. I saved the ones lucky enough to escape, among them Tour and Idril and their daughter. Idril recognized the spear and could see I was a descendant of Finwe and when I came to the mouth of Sirion they declared me the new king. The daughter of Idril was Elving who became the mother of Elrond and Elros your forefather Elendil."

The battle not fat away had begun and the Numenoreans arrows killed many of the attacking orcs. Isildur was about to engage in a sword fight with closest orcs when he notices Sauron running towards Mount Doom.

He the saw his father and Gil-Galad alone getting ready to face the dark lord.

Isildur screamed and ran towards the Mountain. Hirgon and his sons close to him wanted to follow him, but the fight moved in on them and they fell behind, fighting their way though.

Elendil drew Narsil. He said; "you know this legend of this sword. Now I ask for all the energy I have left in me to be put into my hands, so it will cut though whatever armor he has."

Sauron jumped the last bit up the mountain and stood in front of the two. Like his master he used a mace as weapon. With the length of his arm and the mace he could reach at least twenty feet. Sauron swung it, but his two enemies quickly jumped a side. Gil-Galad then moved forward and forced Aeglos against the Dark Lords armor. It penetrated the armor and continued into Sauron body. Sauron screamed so that everyone in Mordor heard him. Both the Numenoreans and the few remaining orcs stopped fighting and looked at the fighting on the mountainside.

Sauron was hurt. He held the spear and as Gil-Galad redraw, he knocked it with his left arm, so the elf lost his feet and fell. Sauron was about the use the Mace against Gil-Galad, when Elendil hit him in the shoulder with Narsil almost severing his arm. Sauron screamed again. He rushed towards Gil-Galad just as the elf were on his feet again. Elendil quickly was after him. Sauron lifted his right arm and swung the mace. Gil-Galad prepared to avoid it. However, Sauron did not try to hit the elf, instead he swung it all the way around hitting Elendil while moving forward. Elendil tried to lift hit shield but the mace hit him hard sending him to the ground. Gil-Galad threw Aeglos in the back of Sauron and the dark lord fell to his feet. Having lost his spear, the Elven king drew his sword, but Sauron quickly threw the mace against him. It hit Gil-Galad hard severely wounding him.

Isildur saw the fight while running; all three were badly wounded and on their knees. But Sauron regained power first. He staggered towards Gil-Galad and picked up his mace. Elendil was second to stand, but it was too late. As Isildur jumped to help his father, Sauron again used the mace. Elendil tried to stop it with Narsil, but Sauron was strong hitting Narsil so hard it fell intro Elendil helmet. Both sword and helmet were crushed, and Elendil killed instantly. His body fell back into Isildur and knocked him to the ground also. Gil-Galad came to his feet. Hurt he attacked Sauron with his sword. But Sauron would not lose now. He swung his mace the last time hitting and killing the great king.

Sauron dropped the mace. He looked at the dead Gil-Galad, then he walked towards Elendil and looked at him. For the first time since the downfall his face looked happy and content; even though he was badly hurt. He did not notice Isildur hidden by his father's corpse reaching out for the broken Narsil.

Before Sauron could react Isildur used Narsil against Sauron. The blade was broken so it could not reach Sauron head, instead it hit his right hand, severing the finger on which the One was.

Sauron would have died of the wounds Gil-Galad and Elendil inflicted on him was it not for his ring. In time the ring would have healed his body, but now it was separated from it before. Saurons body fell the ground as was he dead.

Isildur saw the ring laying on the ground. He got up and picked it up. He looked around and saw the bodies of Gil-Galad and his father. He was confused unable to grasp the situation.

More Numenoreans came to the place. Isildur heard their voices as were whispering but at a great distance.

"The King is dead" and "the elven king is dead too" he heard.

Suddenly and arm touched his.

"Come with me;" a soft voice said.

He looked up and into the eyes of Galadriel. She was the most beautiful being he had ever seen.

"Quickly! Before we get tempted!" She took his left hand and led him up the mountain. He hid the ring in his right palm following Galadriel without speaking. They moved quickly up the mountain into the mist and no one followed them, soon they were alone.

In the distance at an entrance into the mountain they saw another elf.

Galadriel fell to her knees exhausted; "Cirdan! Help!" She shouted. Cirdan ran down and took Isildurs hand forcing the Numenorean to follow him. Cirdan also quickly lost his powers and with last he had he pushed Isildur into the opening.

Isildur fell inside. He was picked up by Elrond, who took over. Elrond took him down the path and into the great cave filled with fire and lave.

Isildur walked forward and looked into the lava, slowly regaining full consciousness.

"Destroy it!" Elrond shouted from behind; "we saw you take it!"

Isildur held the ring high above the roaring lava below. The huge room started to be filled with smoke. He stood still.

"No!" He finally said putting the ring on his finger.

He vanished from Elrond sight and he could only see thick smoke ahead of him.

Elrond staggered out and was met by Cirdan and Galadriel. The two instantly knew what had happen. None of the three spoke, they fell to the ground as they had lost all power.


End file.
